Set in the heart of the beautiful Peak District, the Old House Museum is an original Tudor dwelling. After nearly five hundred years of continuous use, the house was rescued from demolition in the 1950s. As a museum, it now plays host to a wide range of artefacts telling the story of the Peak District and beyond.

The museum is now OPEN daily until November 5th 2018

The House

Collections

What stories these walls could tell! Built in the reign of Henry VIII as a tax collector's cottage, it was expanded into a gentleman's residence in the Elizabethan period - complete with garderobe (Tudor toilet). In the industrial revolution, it was repurposed for mill workers' cottages, by none other than Richard Arkwright himself who had build his third cotton spinning mill in Bakewell. The house retains surviving features from all these periods: so there's plenty for all architectural enthusiasts.

Our collections are as varied as the building itself. From Tudor artefacts found encased in the walls, to Macedonian ceremonial swords to an elephant foot, there's all sorts hidden away in every nook and cranny. Mostly donated by local residents, there's a story behind every one of these artefacts, linking them to this particular corner of Derbyshire.